Markers ensure Indiana black history isn't forgotten

Feb. 1, 2013 9:27 AM

February is Black History Month. The Indianapolis Star is highlighting the contributions of black Hoosiers.

Here are five African-American historical markers in Indiana:

Shaffer Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Muncie: Built about 1893, the former school was bought by a congregation in 1928. The church was a rallying point in August 1930 when the bodies of two black men lynched in Marion were brought to Muncie for embalming by Pastor J.E. Johnson, a mortician.

Rhodes Family Incident, Westfield: The Rhodes family escaped slavery in Missouri, settling in Westfield in 1839. Singleton Vaughn appeared in 1844 to claim them. He was taking them to court in Noblesville when a crowd stopped him. The family escaped on the trip back to Westfield. Vaughn sued some of those in the crowd but lost after finding the Rhodeses were freed when a previous owner moved them to Illinois.

Kappa Alpha Psi, Bloomington: Black male students founded and incorporated one of the earliest black national social fraternities, Kappa Alpha Nu, in 1911 after being excluded at Indiana University and changed the name to Kappa Alpha Psi in 1915. It now has more than 700 chapters worldwide.

Booker T.Washington School, Columbus: The black population had grown enough by 1899 to qualify for a separate school. Columbus' lone black school served first- through seventh-graders. It closed in 1922.

Hannah Toliver, Jeffersonville: Hannah Toliver, a free black woman in Jeffersonville, was convicted in May 1864 of aiding a fugitive slave from Kentucky. Though sentenced to seven years in the Kentucky Penitentiary, Toliver was pardoned on Jan. 5, 1865.